Shallow oil shale resources of the southern Uinta Basin, Utah

Technical Report · Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 EDT 1980

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/5201943· OSTI ID:5201943

Dana, G F; Smith, J W; Trudell, L G

The shallow Green River Formation oil shales in the southern part of Utah's Uinta Basin are potentially developable by strip mining or by subsurface techniques which take advantage of limited overburden. The resource of potential shale oil represented by the shallow deposits is evaluated in detail from corehole oil-yield data. Cross-sections are constructed to readily correlatable stratigraphic units selected to represent resources in the shallow shale. To define each unit, the thickness, average oil yield, and oil resource of each unit in each core are calculated. Contour maps constructed from these data define the resource variation across the shallow resource. By measuring areas enclosed in each resource unit within the defined limit of 200 feet (61 meters) of overburden, the resource represented by the shallow oil shale is evaluated. The total resource is measured as 4.9 billion barrels (779.1 billion liters) of potential shale oil at depths less than 200 feet (61 meters). The rich zone incorporates the Mahogany bed, the best shallow oil-shale unit. This section, currently being exploited by Geokinetics, Inc., for in situ production of shale oil by horizontal combustion, represents 2.2 billion barrels (349.8 billion liters) of potential shale oil in place.

• Research Organization: Department of Energy, Laramie, WY (USA). Laramie Energy Technology Center
• OSTI ID: 5201943
• Report Number(s): DOE/LETC/RI-80/11
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS
OIL SHALE DEPOSITS
RESOURCE POTENTIAL
UTAH
DRILL CORES
GREEN RIVER FORMATION
IN-SITU COMBUSTION
MAHOGANY ZONE
MINING
OIL YIELDS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COLORADO
COMBUSTION
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
IN-SITU PROCESSING
NORTH AMERICA
OXIDATION
PROCESSING
RESOURCES
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
USA
YIELDS
040100* - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Reserves & Exploration- (-1989)
040201 - Oil Shales & Tar Sands- Site Geology- (-1989)